Frankenstein, Jr. and The Impossibles
Frankenstein, Jr. and the Impossibles was an American Saturday morning cartoon]] produced by Hanna-Barbera|Hanna-Barbera Productions]] in 1966. It premiered September 10, 1966 on CBS]], and ran for two seasons. Overview The program contained two segments, which each served as a middle ground between Hanna-Barbera's traditional cartoon]] early output and its superhero]]-based late-1960s cartoons. * Frankenstein, Jr.]]: Taking place in Civic City, boy scientist Buzz Conroy (voiced by Dick Beals]]) and his father Professor Conroy (voiced by John Stephenson (actor)|John Stephenson]]) fight supervillains with the aid of a powerful heroic robot]] named "Frankenstein Jr." (voiced by Ted Cassidy]]). "Frankie", as Buzz usually referred to him, was more than a little reminiscent of the title character in Gigantor]]. Buzz built "Frankie" and activated him through an energy ring. * The Impossibles (TV series)|The Impossibles]]: The title characters are a trio of superheroes (Multi Man, Fluid Man, and Coil Man) who pose undercover as a Beatles]]esque rock music]] band. The characters' names are descriptive of their powers: Multi-Man (voiced by Don Messick]]) can create identical copies of himself; Coil-Man (voiced by Hal Smith (actor)|Hal Smith]]) can form into a super-springy coil; and Fluid-Man (voiced by Paul Frees]]) can transform his body into any fluid. The heroes receive assignments from "Big D" (also voiced by Frees), who contacts them via a receiver in the base of Coil-Man's left-handed]] Guitar. During the development of the show, this group was called "The Incredibles," but was changed to "The Impossibles" by the time of production. The team's pre-production name was later given to the superhero family from the The Incredibles|Disney/Pixar movie of the same name]]. The show was the target of complaints about violence in children's television, and was canceled in 1968. The Frankenstein, Jr. segments were later recycled in the 1976 series Space Ghost]] and Frankenstein, Jr., which aired on NBC]] from November 27, 1976 until September 3, 1977, replacing the canceled Big John, Little John]]. Adaptations File:Frankjr.jpg|thumb|150px|left|In a scene spoofing Fantastic Four #1, Frankenstein Jr. battles The Impossibles. From Hanna-Barbera Presents #8.]] A single issue of a "Frankenstein Jr. and the Impossibles" comic was released by Gold Key Comics]] in 1966 as a tie-in to the TV series, and the contents were reprinted in "The Impossibles Annual" by Atlas Press|Atlas Publishing & Distributing Co. Ltd]], UK in 1968. The two "Frankenstein Jr." comic stories were titled "The Image Invasion" and "Frankenstein Jr. Meets the Flea Man". A new text-based story, specially written for the annual, was "A Spook in his Wheel". The character reappeared in the comic Hanna-Barbera Presents #8 published by Archie Comics]] in 1996. A Big Little Book]] titled Frankenstein, Jr.: The Menace of the Heartless Monster was published in 1968.http://www.biglittlebooks.com/frankensteinjr.html The Impossibles' heroic identities were re-used for a later Hanna-Barbara production, The Super Globetrotters]] (which also featured a similar concept—in this case, the famous Harlem Globetrotters]] as undercover superheroes): * Nate Branch]]'s heroic identity was alternately known as "Fluid Man" or "Liquid Man", with powers (and a swimfin|flippered]] costume) similar to the Impossibles' Fluid-Man. * James Sanders (basketball)|"Twiggy" Sanders]] became "Spaghetti Man", with coiling and stretching abilities similar to Coil-Man. * Hubert Ausbie|"Geese" Ausbie]] as "Multi Man" had virtually identical powers as his Impossibles counterpart and a similar costume. Episodes Frankenstein, Jr. The Impossibles Other Appearances *Buzz Conroy and Frankenstein, Jr. appeared in Yogi's Space Race]] episode "Franzia,". DVD release On April 26, 2011, Warner Archive Collection|Warner Archive]] released Frankenstein, Jr. and The Impossibles: The Complete Series on DVD in region 1 as part of their Hanna–Barbera Classics Collection]]. This is a Manufacture-on-Demand (MOD) release, available exclusively through Warner's online store and Amazon.com. References Voices * Dick Beals]] as Buzz Conroy * Ted Cassidy]] as Frankenstein, Jr. * John Stephenson (actor)|John Stephenson]] as Professor Conroy * Paul Frees]] as Fluid Man * Don Messick]] as Multi Man * Hal Smith (actor)|Hal Smith]] as Coil Man Production Credits *Produced and Directed by: William Hanna & Joseph Barbera *Story Direction: Alex Lovy, Art Scott, Art Davis *Story by: Mike Maltese, Jack Hanrahan, Eddie Brandit, Phillip Hahn *Animation: Irven Spence, Casey Onatis, William Keil, Edwin Parks, Kenneth Muse, Barney Posner, George Germanetti, Larry Silverman, Carlo Vinci, Ray Abrams, Hugh Fraser, Dick Lundy, Harry Holt, Sam Jaimes *Additional Animation (uncredited): Ed Love, Jerry Hathcock, George Goepper, Edwin Aardal *Voices: Ted Cassidy, Don Messick, Hal Smith, Dick Beals, John Stephenson, Paul Frees *Additional Voices (uncredited): Alan Reed, Paul Winchell, Allan Melvin, Ginny Tyler, Jean Vander Pyl, June Foray, Keye Luke, Lennie Weinrib *Camera Operation: Gary Milton, John Aardal, Gene Borghi, Byron McRae, Cliff Shirpser, George Epperson, Clarence Wogatzke *Animation Direction: Charles A. Nichols *Production Supervision: Howard Hanson *Film Editors: Dave Horton, Hal Geer, Daniel Finnerty, Patrick Foley, Earl Bennett *Backgrounds: F. Montealegre, Fernando Arce, Tom Knowles, Richard Khim, Janet Brown, Don Watson *Layout: Brad Case, Phillip Lewis, Willie Ito, Iwao Takamoto, Lewis Ott, Steve Kakagawa, Jerry Eisenberg *Sound Directed by: Dick Olson, William Getty *A Hanna-Barbera Production *Approved MPAA Certification No. 19495 *This Picture Made Under the Jurisiction of IATSE-IA Affiliated with A.F.L.-C.I.O *RCA Sound Recording External links * [http://www.toonopedia.com/frank-jr.htm Frankenstein, Jr. and the Impossibles at Toonopedia] * * Frankenstein, Jr. at the Big Cartoon DataBase]] * Category:CBS network shows]] Category:Hanna-Barbera series and characters]] Category:1960s American animated television series]] Category:1966 American television series debuts]] Category:1968 American television series endings]] Category:Hanna-Barbera superheroes]] Category:Works based on Frankenstein]] Category:Television series by Warner Bros. Television]] Category:Superhero television programs]]